AT&T Data Throttling Class Action Lawsuit Sent to Arbitration

A class action lawsuit accusing AT&T Mobility LLC of misrepresenting an “unlimited” mobile data plan must be resolved in arbitration, a California federal judge has ordered.

On Feb. 29, U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen found that the AT&T customers’ contracts, which included an arbitration clause, must be enforced according to U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

“The parties do not dispute that Plaintiffs entered into contracts with AT&T in order to obtain wireless service,” Judge Chen wrote in his order. “The parties also do not dispute that each of the agreements obtained an arbitration provision.”

A 2011 Supreme Court decision upheld the use of arbitration for customer disputes instead of allowing claims to be brought by filing class action lawsuits. This court decision was viewed by consumer advocates as a “crushing blow” to consumers.

The AT&T data throttling class action lawsuit alleges that between 2011 and 2015, AT&T throttled the data for more than 3.5 million customers whose monthly data usage of 3GB or more.

The plaintiffs argued that compelling arbitration would infringe upon a clause in the First Amendment that guarantees their right to petition the court for redress. However, Judge Chen disagreed and found that that clause only applies if the government is a party in the class action lawsuit.

The status of this AT&T throttling class action lawsuit does not have an affect on lawsuits filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. These federal agencies are seeking millions of dollars in refunds or fines related to AT&T’s data throttling practices.

The FTC filed a complaint against AT&T in 2014 after many consumers complained that “unlimited should mean unlimited” and that the data throttling interfered with their ability to stream music and videos, browse the web and use GPS navigation. The FTC lawsuit alleged that AT&T’s data throttling practice is unfair because the terms of the unlimited data plans changed while customers were under contract. Further, the agency claims that AT&T failed to disclose important information about the data throttling program.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau also found that millions of AT&T customers were subjected to data throttling. The agency stated that on average, data speeds were slowed 12 days out of each billing cycle.

AT&T has revised its terms and conditions related to its unlimited data plans. Under the current terms, AT&T will only slow down data for customers who exceed 22 GB in a month and when the network is congested.

The plaintiffs are represented by Michael W. Sobol, Roger N. Heller, and Nicole D. Sugnet of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, John A. Yanchunis and Rachel Soffin of Morgan & Morgan PA, and Jean Sutton Martin.

The AT&T Data Throttling Class Action Lawsuit is Marcus A. Roberts, et al. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, Case No. 3:15-cv-3418, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.